💥 REMINDER: Don’t miss a promo opportunity!
The Pilothouse team likes to say, “Take an opportunity to ride the wave.” 🌊
The wave in question is a higher purchase intent period that helps increase conversions.
And as Labor Day (and holiday-heavy Q4) quickly approaches, we’re in one of those waves to offer strategic recommendations that maximize your presence during this significant consumer buying moment.
Recent data reveals that nearly half of consumers intend to maintain their spending at the same level as the previous year.
And 17% of consumers plan to increase their spending, while 11% don't adhere to a specific budget plan at all.
This presents an exciting prospect for your brand to engage with potential customers and stand out from the competition.
Here are some strategic recommendations to consider: 👇
🐴 Leverage advertiser spending cost (ASC) as your workhorse
Allocating a substantial portion of your budget, ranging from 30% to 50% to ASC campaigns can significantly boost your promotional efforts.
Previous instances have shown that utilizing ASC during seasonal events yields improved performance compared to business-as-usual (BAU) campaigns.
Notably, during last year's Cyber 5 (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday), ASC campaigns exhibited a noteworthy 10% reduction in cost per acquisition (CPA) in comparison to non-ASC purchase campaigns.
⤴️ Stay ahead of the curve
Ensure your brand captures a share of consumers' spending during this transitional season.
By initiating your seasonal and promotional messaging well in advance, you can tap into back-to-school purchases, fall decorations, and essential fall wardrobe items. 🍁
📅 Optimize your funnel pre-holiday
Utilize this opportunity to declutter your sales funnel.
Capitalize on the intent you've cultivated by designing campaigns not only for new customers but also targeting previous purchasers, Lookalike Audiences (LAL) based on past purchasers, and individuals who have engaged with past flash sales.
🧪 Test holiday strategies
Labor Day is an ideal testing ground for your upcoming holiday strategies.
Seize this chance to gain a share of voice among new and loyal audiences, providing momentum for a successful transition into Q4.
Consider posting your gift-giving guides a tad earlier or sharing some cool ways to use a product during the holidays (this works well for kitchen, dining, and decor products!). The earlier you test, the earlier you know which angles are sure to crush for your brand this holiday season!
🎯 Consider shorter optimization windows
For brief flash sales lasting under seven days, a 1-day click optimization window should prove effective.
Ensure that any cost caps are well-calibrated to maintain optimal performance without the need for frequent manual adjustments.
🧨 Initiate a reach blast early
As an experimental approach, consider allocating a small portion of your budget to reach optimization.
This tactic involves targeting a select audience segment characterized by potentially higher intent compared to typical direct response (DR) campaigns.
Increased conversion rates (CVRs) could enable you to achieve DR outcomes while staying on target.
🔑 The key is preparation
Take advantage of these opportunities now before the wave of higher purchase intent is overshadowed by the busy holiday season.
The last thing a brand wants is to miss out on leveraging the natural influx of customers ready to spend.
Use this time to prepare and test out one of these strategies and maximize your return on investment (ROI) for a record-breaking year. 🚀
